Game 23

​CHI 98               MEM 85

Two things are true
And the first is this:

The game is just a game.

Pure as it wants to be.

Rule-based
And honest,
No matter the audience
Or consequence.

Simple at its core
Despite its great complexity,

Like mathematics,
Or just about everything else.

But here is the second true thing:

The game is more than
Just a game.

Basketball has become other things for me.

My muse
And my connection.

The angel in the echo-chamber.

One story told endless times
Through endless voices.

And I listen for my own
Amongst them.
Straining
And leaning in.

The game itself
Slips into ideas
And gestures
And words.

Two things are true,
And they are true together.

They do not flicker on and off
Like a light.

They compress and rarefy
Like waves of sound
Or a pulsing heart.